דֻּבִּי
dúbimasculine
To say teddy bear in Hebrew, say דֻּבִּי (dúbi). Another word is דֻּבּוֹן (dubón). If unsure, use דֻּבִּי.
Meaning: a stuffed toy bear (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| דֻּבִּי | dúbi | masculine |
| דֻּבּוֹן | dubón | masculine |
דֻּבִּי is a stuffed toy bear. Without vowel marks it is written דובי.
What does it mean word for word?
דֻּבִּי is a diminutive form of the word for bear, which makes it sound small and cuddly.
Which one should you use?
דֻּבִּי is the common, diminutive and more affectionate word. דֻּבּוֹן is another way to name the toy.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both דֻּבִּי and דֻּבּוֹן are masculine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as dúbi, with the stress on the first syllable.
Did you know?
- The word דּוֹב ('bear') is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe wild beasts, but the diminutive דֻּבִּי is a modern linguistic development reflecting a shift toward emotive language.
- In Hebrew, the diminutive suffix used to create דֻּבִּי can be applied to other animals to create pet names, turning the word for 'cat' into חתולי (chatuli).
- Hebrew uses the same word דּוֹב (dov) for both a real bear and the concept of a bear, meaning the only difference between a fierce grizzly and a דֻּבִּי is a small grammatical suffix.
Examples in context
- אני קניתי דובון חדש לילד שלי.I bought a new teddy bear for my child.
- איפה הדובי שלך?Where is your teddy bear?
- התפזרו דובונים בכל החדר!There are teddy bears scattered all around the room!
- האם ראית את הדובון המטורף החדש שצילמתי?Have you seen the crazy new teddy bear I photographed?
- הילד מחזיק דֻּבִּי קטן.ha-yeled machazik dubi katan.The boy is holding a small teddy bear.
- יש לי דֻּבִּי חדש בחדר.yesh li dubi chadash ba-chadar.I have a new teddy bear in my room.
- היא קנתה דֻּבִּי מתוק ליום ההולדת.hi kanata dubi matok le-yom ha-huledet.She bought a sweet teddy bear for the birthday.
Example conversation
Two siblings are looking at a gift in the living room.
- עידו Idoנועה, תראי איזה דֻּבִּי יפה קיבלתי!Noa, tir'i eize dubi yafe kibalti!Noa, look what a beautiful teddy bear I received!
- נועה Noaהוא נראה ממש רך, עידו.Hu nir'e mamash rach, Ido.It looks really soft, Ido.
- עידו Idoאני אוהב מאוד את הדֻּבִּי הזה.Ani ohev me'od et ha-dubi ha-ze.I love this teddy bear very much.
- נועה Noaהוא בהחלט מתנה נהדרת.Hu be-hechlet matana nehederet.It is definitely a wonderful gift.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “teddy bear” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
